In the middle ages, most dogs had jobs. In his book De Canibus, the 16th-century English physician and scholar John Caius described a hierarchy of dogs, which he classified first and foremost according to their function in human society.
But even the “mungrells” that occupied the bottom rungs of the canine social ladder were characterized in terms of their labor or status. For example as street performers, or turnspits in kitchens—running on wheels that turned roasting meat.
Had me worried when they called the dog turnspits in the kitchens, now I want one to help man the bbq.
Had me worried when they called the dog turnspits in the kitchens, now I want one to help man the bbq.